Hale Irwin shot a 10-under 62 and took a three-stroke lead over Tom Kite and Brad Bryant after the second round of the Champions Tour's season-opening MasterCard Championship on Saturday.
The 61-year-old Irwin, coming off his first winless season in 12 years, had 10 birdies in his bogey-free round for a 16-under 128 total.
He just missed shooting his age when a 4m birdie putt on No. 18 came up just short and to the right. Irwin hunched over, flipping his cap backward.
PHOTO: AP
"I can still do this," he said. "It's not like I've lost it and it's gone. It's back. Just what will I do with it now?"
Kite shot a 64 and Bryant, the first-round leader, had a 68. Jim Thorpe had a 63 to join defending champion Loren Roberts (67) at 12 under.
Allen Doyle (67), Jerry Pate (67) and Ben Crenshaw (68) were 11 under.
Irwin, who has a record 44 wins on the Champions Tour, is seeking his first win since the 2005 SAS Championship.
He missed winning last year for the first time since joining the Champions Tour in 1995.
"I just probably lost a step here and half a step there and that's all it takes," he said.
"All in all, it wasn't a terrible year, but I just didn't play the kind of golf I'm capable of playing, which I've shown the last two days," he said.
Irwin has been working out more and trying to fix the kinks in his game.
He birdied four straight holes twice, once each on the front and back nines.
His tap-in birdie on the par-4 15th, gave him his first lead at 15 under.
Irwin has owned Hawaii like no other golfer, winning eight times on the senior tour including the 1997 MasterCard and the 1981 Hawaiian Open on the US PGA Tour. He has US$3.9 million in winnings, including unofficial money, in the state.
Irwin said he would need to stay aggressive and probably needed a 65 or 66 to force his rivals to shoot an amazing round yesterday to win.
"If you just try to sit on a lead, you'll probably end up doing what I did on the last hole," he said. "You get too careful. You'll get too anxious and not succeed."
Kite had seven birdies and made a 13m eagle putt on the par-5 10th.
His only mistake was a bogey on the par-3 17th when his 8-iron fell short of the green and he missed a 1.5m putt for par.
Kite said he realizes Irwin is hungry for a win.
"He's not the only one hungry, though," he said. "It's going to take some good golf tomorrow to catch Hale."
Irwin is almost unbeatable when he leads or share the lead heading into Sunday, winning 29 of 40 times.
With a cigar in mouth and a brand new Callaway putter in hand, Thorpe had a personal-best 22 putts in a round that included seven birdies and an eagle on the 550m 10th, the longest hole at Hualalai.
His four birdie putts on the final six holes were all within 1.5m.
"I found a way to keep your putting strokes low -- miss more greens," he said.
"It builds your confidence when you make those short putts. So if things don't good tomorrow, I might just miss a green on purpose and chip it and go up-and-down to get some confidence," he said.
Only Gil Morgan (73) and Bob Gilder (77) shot over par during the round on Saturday.
"How would you like to shoot a 13-under par and be three behind?" Irwin asked.
A day after celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary, 71-year-old Gary Player was 6 under after his second 69, again beating his age by two strokes.
Player moved into contention at 9 under with a birdie on the par-4 16th, but triple-bogeyed No. 18 after hooking his drive and dropping his approach in the sand.
"Anytime you end up with a 7, it's a lousy bit of medicine," he said.
"I got a little greedy. I tried to hit it hard and hooked it around the corner and I just hit a terrible shot," he said.
The Hall of Famer is one of four invited players at Hualalai, along with Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd and Lanny Wadkins.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two